Christian Web News - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially took office in a ceremony in Jerusalem today. He stressed the need to confront Iran on their nuclear weapons development program.
"We will have to roll up our sleeves and start working straightaway, as soon as we step out of this office," Netanyahu said at the ceremony.
Just before his swearing-in ceremony Netanyahu hinted the Jewish state may need to attack Iran in an interview with the Atlantic magazine,
"You don't want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs," Netanyahu said, referring to Iran. "When the wide-eyed believer gets hold of the reins of power and the weapons of mass death, then the entire world should start worrying, and that is what is happening in Iran."
He proceeded to tell Atlantic that in the past, Israeli preemptive strikes were necessary against regimes threatening the Jewish state's existence. He was referring to Israel's 1981 attack against Iraq's nuclear reactor and a 2007 bombing raid against a suspected Syrian nuclear site supposedly being constructed with aid from North Korea.
About the same time Netanyahu made these remarks, President Obama, speaking from the White House, affirmed Iran has the right to a civilian nuclear program.
"While we recognize that under the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons) Iran has the right to a civilian nuclear program, Iran needs to restore confidence in its exclusively peaceful nature," Obama announced in a joint statement with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev before their first sit-down.
Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, Netanyahu had praise for outgoing leader Ehud Olmert, calling him "one of Israel's most talented prime ministers" and wished him success on future endeavors.
Olmert announced his resignation last year in the face of multiple criminal corruption and bribery investigations described by police officials as serious. His legacy is enmeshed with Israel's perceived failure to defeat the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon back in 2006, as well as the Jewish state's recent 22-day confrontation with Hamas in Gaza that left the terrorist organization still mostly in-tact and much less isolated internationally.
What Netanyahu's policies would be toward the Palestinians or Syria remained unlcear
New Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced today that Israel is committed to every aspect of the Road Map, but is not obligated to follow the Annapolis process. The Road Map calls for the Palestinians to defeat terrorism before moving on to negotiations to create a Palestinian state (even though the only ones who truly want a Palestinian state are the terrorists), while the Annapolis process stresses immediate talks to form a state.
According to WND, sources close to Netanyahu say the prime minister is planning to continue negotiations with the Palestinians toward an Israeli withdrawal from the majority of the so-called West Bank.
As far as Syria is concerned, Netanyahu has stated he will talk to Damascus. Sources close to Netanyahu said the new leader already sent messages to Syria expressing his willingness to conduct negotiations toward an accommodation on the Golan. As a candidate, however, he visited the strategic Golan Heights and vowed never to relinquish the territory, which looks down on Israeli population centers around the Sea of Galilee and was twice used by Damascus to mount ground invasions into Israel as well as shelling the area on a daily basis, forcing civilians to practically live in bomb shelters.
Christian Web News - Jesus has a way of getting right to the point, doesn't He? There was certainly no mincing of words, He came right out and said, "why are you fearful?" and then went on to say, "O you of little faith." You don't have to read between the lines to see what He was saying, they had little faith.
Christian Web News - Galatians 3:13-14. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree''), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
